In a connected workplace, the conference call is a necessary tool, albeit one that is often used in unnecessary ways. Here are a few tips to help you make them more efficient, more collaborative, and actually productive. Read More »
Collaboration
Looking at the previous two Tales from the Trenches, a reader could get the impression that all web workers are employed by small firms or as independent contractors. But large organizations are putting the advantages of wired working to use as well, including global telecom giant… Read More »
VoxOx, the all-in-one phone, fax, instant-messaging, text-messaging, and file-sending application, is now offering an app for iOS. While the mobile app doesn’t have all of the features of the desktop application, it may be useful for those who juggle lots of communication channels. Read More »
Adium, the open-source IM client, has been updated to version 1.4. I’ve been using it in beta for what seems like an eternity, but the delay in its release is hardly surprising, given the huge number of new features included in the new version. Read More »
While the proportion of the time that Britons spend on social networking sites is up (now taking 25 percent, from seven percent in 2007), IM usage has decreased quite markedly, taking just 5 percent of online time, compared to 14 percent three years ago. Read More »
I spend a lot of time each day communicating with colleagues and clients, by phone, email, on social networks, and via the occasional fax. But when I need to have a short conversation and get an answer right away, instant messaging is hard to beat.… Read More »
The addition of Gmail Voice and Video Chat to Google’s list of services brought back to mind a question I’ve been thinking about for a while: have we gone past the saturation point in having different ways to chat with people? Even if you count… Read More »
As a web worker, I find myself involved in a lot of online conversations – I mean, a lot. As I write this, for example, I have four instant messenger windows open to people on various services, I’m hanging out in 3 Campfire rooms and 3… Read More »
How can we reconcile instant messenger apps’ usefulness as a communication tool with the fact that it can be downright annoying? Read More »
I’ve noticed that web workers tend to be particular about their communication tools. Twitter is usually for mass sharing, wikis or collab apps are for project discussions, while email is for almost everything else. We all have our own preferences when it comes to communicating… Read More »
Hot on the heels of Windows XP SP3, Microsoft released an additional treat today, for Mac owners only, as the latest release of Microsoft Messenger for Mac (version 7) escaped into the wild. Version 6 brought the Aqua look and feel to Microsoft’s… Read More »
Google Talk gives you instant messaging, Gmail notifications, voice calling from PC to PC, and file transfers (though the last three are not available in Gmail chat or the Gtalk gadget). Recently, they’ve added group chat and AIM integration too. You can access it in a… Read More »